Garoosh - Our little piece of Ghur

We’re not in the Old World any more
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doc_cthulhu
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 6:26 am

Still very match work in progress (and will kind of always be since it's a living campaing) but I decided to share with some folks my progress on our campaign map and what's going on. It was originally only intended to be used with the Path to Glory campaign of Age of Sigmar (3rd edition), buuuut I just happened to buy the Soulbound starter box. And all the books. So now I'm fleshing it out even more. And as sharing fan content for Warhammer has always been my thing, here we are again.

I hope you enjoy this!

I hope I remember to update this along the way. But as everybody knows, the time of forums has kind of passed. Sadly.

Let's begin with the map:
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doc_cthulhu
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 6:26 am

History of Garoosh

Age of Myth
During the Age of Myth the Silent People that inhabited the Beastgrave once dwelt here during their migrations. Their honeycombed amber caverns can still be found under Marrowfall Fortress.

According to the legends they lived within a sentient mountain as tall as the sky itself. But during his travels the mighty god-king Sigmar battled against the mountain and stroke it down forming the Hammerstrike Penisula. The greenskin tribes tell of a similar story, but according to them it wasn’t Sigmar who fell the mountain but Gorkamorka.

During this time the lands were also inhabited by an alliance of humans and duardin who built great cities that are now left to ruin.

Age of Chaos
The lands of Ghur are accustomed to battle and the Age of Chaos did not hit them particularly hard. The great ancient cities did fell and countless upon countless lives were lost in the war against Nurgle who had turned his gaze upon Garoosh, but such is the life of Ghur. The people went back to their nomadic lifestyle and fought tides of Chaos as well as greenskins, and the environment itself.

Age of Sigmar
During the Realmgate Wars the Stormcast Eternals managed to establish a number a Stormkeeps in Garoosh, fighting back the hordes of Chaos. The city of Flameberg was founded with the help of Sylvaneth of the Heartwood Glade.
Slowly but steadily the civilisation has spread throughout the hostile lands of Garoosh.

Locations

Dankpoke Hills: Arid mesa inhabited by numerous tribes of greenskins living as nomadic tribes on the hills or in the caverns and tunnels beneath it.
Feral Strait: Stale hot strait running between Garoosh and the Isle of Shadowbeasts. The strait is bountiful on algae eating fish and fish eating krakens that swim in from the Krakensea.
The Flesh Pit: On a narrow stretch of hilly land between the crashing waves of the Feral Strait and the foreboding foothills of the Howling Range loom the ruins of a once magnificent city. The original inhabitants are long gone and forgotten. Instead, great herds of feral beasts have taken to roaming these coastal hills. One of the few structures still mostly intact is an amphitheatre of alabaster stone. During the day, all is deathly silent, but at nightfall, the amphitheatre is filled with the sound of hoofs on stone, the clashing of steel, the screams of a multitude of victims, and the cacophonous braying of beastmen. Here the Beastmen ply their trade of blood sport, combat, and vicious ritual. Overseeing it all is the Beastlord Aunty Bullshanks, culling the weak, and choosing the most brutal of the combatants for his own herd, honing his fighting force into razor sharpness with blood.
Marrowfall Fortress: A vast fortress of bone and living rock. It is rumoured that during the Age of Myth the Silent People settled here for their forgotten tunnels now honeycomb the bedrock of the fortress for miles and miles. Who drove them out and found the fortress is unknown but after the Necroquake the endless corridors of the Marrowfall Fortress have been luring warbands and adventurers with promise of power and whispers of a hidden Stormvault.
Silver Mountains: Mountains of living avalanches that hunt those who dare their slopes. The mountains’ cutting sharp silver obsidian peaks reach up to claw the sky. It is not uncommon for the jagged rocks to cut the clouds and make them bleed. The winters of Garoosh gather on these mountains while Hysh blasters the surrounding areas.
Hammerstrike Peninsula: A great mountain was levelled to a wide peninsula by a strike of Sigmar’s hammer during the Age of Myth.

Free Cities
There are a host of unaligned cities in the lands of Garoosh. The largest and most influential or notable are listed bellow and marked on the map.

Arnanbane: Storm-wracked beacon of master hunters.
Flameberg: Sprawling metropolis inhabited with mostly by humans that has grown around a Realmgate Chamon. There’s also a Sylvaneth Wyldwood bordering the city inhabited by Sylvaneth and community of duardin master engineers. Since Flameberg is perpetually being raided by Orruks, they are constantly hiring mercenaries. The city is also famous for Stonetusk Hunters legendary monsters hunters, and The Brazen Gryphons a notable Freeguild. (Legendary location)
Grey Port: Town of duardins and humans with a small Stormkeep.
Karasis: Infamous citadel of indolent tricksters.
Ostilvarr: Flooded hamlet of devout swashbucklers. Recently a large number of folk living here fell to an enchanted sleep of which they cannot be awakened. (Spoiler: they were raided by Idoneth Deepkin)
Seer’s Eye: Legendary library city of the Eldritch Council. The city is inhabited mostly by aelves.
Sigmardorf: Secretive fastness of deadly disciples
Sunfang: City centered around an ancient Ziggurat, a Nexus of Power, landed here during the Age of Chaos when the Seraphon arrived to battle the hordes of Chaos. 


Vindilsis: Prosperous haven of beastmasters that hunt the Kharibdyss and other sea monsters of the Feral Strait.
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doc_cthulhu
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Flameberg

History

Age of Myth
The duardin from the Realm of Metal undercovered a magmatic Realmgate leading to the Realm of Beasts. Traveling through the Gate they established Gorankorund (Beastrealm Watchpost). What started as a small outpost to protect the gate quickly grew into a mighty fortress in the mountains under the Realmgate, once rich veins of Ghurian realmstone were found. With this the hold was expanded to a city and gained the name of Karak Uzkul (Hold of Bone).

Even with other Khazalid Empire karaks in the Realm of Beasts, Karak Uzkul far and remote of them. At first their trade caravans set out through the Realmgate rather than over the hostile lands of Garoosh. Through stubborn expeditions (most of which met an untimely end) Karak Uzkul was able to establish long and perilous trade routes to other duardin holds, even to the fabled Karak-Kzaf.

At the same time their presence in the lands now known as Garoosh was greatly increased with the founding of several smaller mines and outposts. These fortresses were commonly raised to protect the duardin from the ever-present hordes of green skins as well as the migratory Silent Ones.

Karak Uzkul prospered and was eventually joined by humans seeking hold in the Realm of Beasts, who build their now forgotten city at the gates of the Karak.

With the abundant amounts of Ghurian realmstone the runesmiths and engineers of Karak Uzgul were able to turn their minds to the greatest secret of Khazalid Empire - Realm-craft. In deep halls they worked to create their own subrealm. Some claim they succeeded but any evidence of this was annihilated with the dawn of the Age of Chaos.

Age of Chaos
The tide of Chaos was catastrophic for Karak Uzkul. Not only were they sieged by the outside forces but also threatened by Tzeenchian armies that poured in from the deepest dungeons of their fortress. The duardin had no chance but to flee and leave their Karak to chaos.

Last of the duardin rune priests of Karak Uzkul, a greybeard Hruggan Warforge, was able to hold of the enemies with his personal guard long enough to permanently seal much of the city before he fell to the talons of the Horrors.

After conquering the duardin karak, Altor’ik-zelga Dreamtongue, leading her The Exalted Fateweavers, claimed the site as her own and it became known as The Transfigured Labyrinth. She was keen to study the workings of the Khazalid Empire and managed to open much of the sealed secrets of the duardin.

Altor’ik-zelga lost her Labyrinth to the moonclan grots of the Dankpoke Hills. The grots were later also vanquished by the Maggots of the Tri-Lobed Moon of Ulceritus Poxspawn who renamed it The Dreadhold of Bloat, and held the site until the arrival of the Stormcast Eternals.

Age of Sigmar

Realmgate Wars
During the Realmgate Wars the Stormcast Eternals strike force, Ivory Blades, lead by Eldacora Skyflare, conquered the Dreadhold of Bloat. They established a Stormkeep of Fort Gryphclaw and left it in the hands of Lord-Celestant Qaditryon the Burned.

Time of Reconquest
By the command of the God-King Sigmar the founding of new Cities of Sigmar begins. Under the rule of Qaditryon rule the rebuilding of the city began with a quick pace.

First came the humans and duardin from Azyr, but they were quickly followed by the Kharadron Overlords and Fyreslayers, who both wanted to delve into the lost Karak Uzkul below Flameberg - as the growing city was now known. The Conclave of Flameberg is established but Qaditryon the Burned still remains in the leader de facto.

Fearing (perhaps rightly) that there might still be hidden strongholds of chaos, Lord-Celestant Qaditryon was hesitant to let any parties into the undercity at first, which raised some bad blood between the different species and factions of the city.

Awakening the Wyldwood
With the coming of the the new inhabitants, and especially with the duardin of the Ironweld Arsenal, the citizens turned to the vast forest in the slopes of the mountains for fuel and building materials. At first they could gather the materials in piece, but the awakening of Alarielle in Ghyran, the Sylvaneth Wyldwood was also awakened.

Having slept in their grove from the Age of Myth the Sylvaneth were disoriented at first, but quickly turned against the Flamebergians for their greed. Bitter battles were fought before Lord-Celestant Qaditryon was able to negotiate a truce, and later an alliance with Bramble-Mother Aspenandra Bristleheart.

The denizens of the Flameberg establish smaller towns and hamlets in the wild lands of Garoosh. Trading blooms with the Kharadron Overlords establishing a base in the Silver Mountains and Scourge Privateers taking control in the Feral Strait.

Malign Portents and the Necroquake
The Malign Portents are witnessed in Flameberg and many ratcatchers and karakdelvers report strange sightings in the old duardin holds. At first they are seen only as remains of the rule of the Tzeentchian sorcerer and the Stormcast are sent to purge these pockets of Chaos. 

However it quickly becomes apparent, that the ruins are infested with countless numbers of undead spirits that attack the city when the Necroquake hits.

Once again the city is besieged from within as also from outside, when the orruk hordes try to use the Necroquake in their advance and attack the city. With the fate of the city in danger the Conclave enlists the help of the Fyreslayers in their defence. These mercenaries arrive from Chamon and Aqshy, and while their help is desperately needed their presence and different manners put the citizens on the edge.

Broken Realms
With the awakening of Kragnos the greenskin aggression in Garoosh has been higher than ever. The Orruk warplanes are gathering, the Moonclan Grots are on the move again, and even the Mega-Gigants have shook the ground with their step. The threat of destruction is ever higher since release of Be’lakor Chaos Storm.

The hardest struck against Flameberg however has clearly been the destruction of the Realmgate in Chamon that connected to the gate in Flameberg. It has cut the city out from normal routes of trade and supply and driven the city to chaos.

Current lord of the Fort Gryphclaw, Lord-Castellant Belren is furiously seeking a way to open the gate once more and has allowed more karakdelvers to search the undercity in hopes of finding something to help the city.

Flameberg Today

City Rulers
As with other Cities of Sigmar, Flameberg is ruled by Conclave. It houses 30 seats that are taken by the different species and guilds of the city.

Notable members include:
  • Lord-Castellant Belren, is rarely seen in the sittings with all that is going on. His stormhost still protects the city and his place is usually taken by his second-in-command, Jakanta Derinian.
  • Master Engineer of the Ironweld Arsenal, Maergrim Stonbrak, who claims to be a descendant of the original clan of Karak Uzkul.
  • Bramble-Mother Aspenandra Bristleheart, who is even rarer sight than Lord-Celestant Belren.
  • Grumnaer of the Durnawr Lodge, Auric Runeson and the leader of the Fyreslayers Mercenaries of Flameberg.
  • Buuli Bristlehelm, Guild Master of the Masons, and the advisor of Lord-Castellant Belren.
  • Belein Runecleaver, the head of the Sveganrhod Clan of Dispossessed of the City.
  • Shaakrun Redbrow, the head of the Collegiate Arcane in Flameberg. Famous for hunting down and capturing the Crawling Grimoire for study.
  • Gylmokk Ironhaul, Kharadron Overlord of the Ancestral Blade charted company.
  • Maerondil, Wyldwood Warden and the formal leader of the Wanderers living in the city. Leads the Stonetusk Hunters, a regiment of the Highland Glade legendary for their monster hunting skills.
  • Wrím the Kind, leader of the Brazen Gryphons, the Freeguild of the city. Earned the monicker as a sarcastic remark but after fighting against the undead of the undercity, has tried to live up to the name.
Influential Factions

Ancestral Blade
A charted company of Kharadron Overlords that act as merchants and traders but as karakdelvers in the Karak Uzkul. Lead by Gylmokk Ironhaul.

Brazen Gryphons
Freeguild of the city. Lead by Wrím the Kind.

Ironweld Arsenal

Stonetusk Hunters
Stonetusk Hunters, a regiment of the Highland Glade legendary for their monster hunting skills.
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Hyarion
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Really interesting stuff, can't wait to read more!
I hold the glaive of Law against the Earth.
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